The Heir
1346 Words
Silence.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
Izzy stared at Luca, certain she'd heard him wrong.
"The… what?"
Luca looked uncomfortable.
"The Morettis think you're the heir to their family."
She blinked.
Then blinked again.
"I'm sorry, did I hit my head earlier?"
No one smiled.
No one laughed.
Oh.
They were serious.
"No."
She shook her head.
"No, absolutely not."
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"Izzy—"
"No."
She stood from the chair.
"My mother may have been born a Moretti, but I don't know these people."
"It doesn't matter."
She looked at him.
"How does it not matter?"
"Because blood matters to families like theirs."
She stared.
"You're telling me these people think I belong to them because my mother was a Moretti?"
"Yes."
"That's insane."
"It is."
She threw her hands into the air.
"Great. Fantastic. Wonderful."
Luca looked sympathetic.
"You seem stressed."
She turned.
"Stressed?"
He nodded.
"I'd say this qualifies as stressful."
She laughed.
It sounded slightly unhinged.
Marco appeared in the doorway at that exact moment.
He took one look at her face and frowned.
"What did I miss?"
Luca pointed toward Izzy.
"Existential crisis."
"Ah."
Marco nodded.
"Understandable."
She couldn't believe these people.
"No one is alarmed by this?"
"We're very alarmed," Marco said.
"You don't look alarmed."
"We've had a long day."
Fair.
She paced across the room.
"My mother was a Moretti."
Silence.
"The Morettis think I'm their heir."
Silence.
"My life is a disaster."
This time, Luca nodded.
"That one is accurate."
She pointed at him.
"You aren't helping."
"I've been told that before."
A soft chuckle came from the bed.
Everyone looked at Adrian.
"You laughed."
He looked surprised himself.
"I did."
"You almost died."
"And yet here we are."
She stared at him.
He smiled.
And annoyingly…
Her heart skipped.
This was becoming a problem.
A very serious problem.
Marco cleared his throat.
"We should focus."
Right.
The mafia family trying to claim her.
Definitely more important.
"What exactly does heir mean?" she asked.
Silence filled the room.
Then Luca answered.
"It means if something happened to Vincent…"
She frowned.
"...you'd be next in line."
The room went completely still.
Her jaw dropped.
"What?"
"The Morettis don't have any direct descendants left."
"No."
"They don't."
"No."
"Izzy—"
"No!"
She looked horrified.
"I work in a bookstore!"
Silence.
"I alphabetize shelves!"
No one said anything.
"I cannot run a crime family!"
To his credit, Marco tried not to laugh.
He failed.
She glared at him.
"Sorry," he said, still smiling.
"This isn't funny."
"No," he agreed.
"But the bookstore part was."
She groaned.
Adrian watched her with amusement in his eyes.
"You're enjoying this."
"No."
"You absolutely are."
A tiny smile appeared.
"I may be enjoying it a little."
She couldn't believe him.
"I've known I'm a secret mafia princess for five minutes."
That did it.
Luca burst out laughing.
Even Marco smiled.
Adrian covered his mouth.
"Oh my God."
"I'm sorry," Luca said between laughs.
"But secret mafia princess?"
She folded her arms.
"I stand by it."
For the first time all night, the room felt lighter.
Then the reality of everything settled back in.
Her smile faded.
"What do they want from me?"
Silence.
That wasn't a good sign.
"What do they want from me?"
Adrian looked at her.
"They may want you to join them."
She stared.
"No."
"They may want to use you."
"Also no."
"They may want to control you."
Her stomach dropped.
"And if I refuse?"
The room became very quiet.
Finally—
"They won't like it."
That sounded suspiciously like a threat.
She sat back down.
"I'm tired."
No one argued.
"I don't want to be anybody's heir."
"I know."
"I don't want any of this."
"I know."
She looked at Adrian.
"Can I go back to yesterday?"
A small smile appeared.
"I wish."
Silence.
Then she asked the question that had been sitting in the back of her mind.
"Did my father know?"
Adrian's expression changed.
"He suspected."
Her heart sank.
"So that's why he wanted me protected."
"Partly."
"Partly?"
He hesitated.
"There was something else."
"What?"
"He believed your mother left something behind."
A chill ran through her.
"What kind of something?"
"I don't know."
"You keep saying that."
"Because it's true."
She sighed.
"What did he think she left?"
Adrian looked at her.
"A ledger."
Silence.
"A what?"
"A record."
"Of what?"
"The Morettis' business."
Her pulse quickened.
"The illegal business?"
"Yes."
Suddenly, she understood.
The file.
The break-in.
The threats.
Everything.
"They think I know where it is."
"Exactly."
"But I don't."
"I know."
She stared at him.
"They don't."
"No."
Wonderful.
Just wonderful.
"So now I have a crime family that thinks I'm their heir and another that thinks I have some magical secret ledger."
Luca raised his hand.
"Technically, it's the same crime family."
She looked at him.
He lowered his hand.
"Sorry."
A knock sounded.
Rosa entered carrying food.
She stopped.
Everyone looked miserable.
Again.
"Oh dear."
"I think that's our permanent expression now," Luca said.
She set the tray down.
"Eat."
"I'm not hungry," Izzy said.
"Eat."
The tone left no room for argument.
She looked at Adrian.
He looked wisely silent.
Traitor.
She took a sandwich.
"So," Rosa said. "What happened now?"
No one answered.
She looked at them.
Then at Izzy.
Then back again.
"Oh no."
"It's bad," Luca confirmed.
"How bad?"
A pause.
"Secret mafia princess bad."
Rosa blinked.
"What?"
Izzy sighed.
"Exactly."
The older woman slowly sat down.
"Well."
No one spoke.
After a long moment—
"I suppose that explains a few things."
Everyone looked at her.
"What things?" Adrian asked.
Rosa frowned.
"I thought Eleanor's eyes looked familiar."
Silence.
"Rosa."
"What?"
"You never mentioned that."
"I didn't think it mattered."
Apparently it mattered a lot.
A thought suddenly occurred to Izzy.
She looked at Rosa.
"You knew my mother?"
"Very well."
Her breath caught.
"Really?"
Rosa smiled softly.
"She was one of my dearest friends."
The room went quiet.
"You never told me that," Adrian said.
"You never asked."
He sighed.
Apparently everyone in this story kept secrets.
"What was she like?" Izzy asked quietly.
Rosa's face softened.
"Kind."
A smile touched her lips.
"Stubborn."
Adrian looked amused.
"That sounds familiar."
"Very."
Tears filled Izzy's eyes.
"What else?"
Rosa reached across the table and took her hand.
"She loved you more than anything."
Her throat tightened.
"She talked about you constantly."
A tear slipped down her cheek.
"She wanted a better life for you."
More tears followed.
"She was brave."
Silence.
Then Rosa's expression changed.
"And she was afraid."
The room went still.
"Of what?"
Rosa looked at Adrian.
Then back at Izzy.
"The ledger."
Her breath caught.
"You knew about it?"
A slow nod.
"I helped her hide it."
Everything stopped.
Even Adrian looked shocked.
"You what?"
Rosa looked suddenly nervous.
"Oh dear."
"Rosa," Adrian said slowly.
"You knew where the ledger was this entire time?"
She winced.
"Maybe."
The room exploded.
"You what?" Luca shouted.
"You never said anything!" Marco added.
Rosa looked offended.
"No one asked."
"You keep saying that!" Adrian exclaimed.
She folded her arms.
"It's a valid defense."
"No, it isn't!"
For the first time since she'd met him…
Izzy saw Adrian completely flustered.
It was oddly adorable.
Then reality crashed back.
She stared at Rosa.
"You know where it is?"
The older woman looked at her.
A long silence followed.
Then—
"I think your mother left it for you."
The room went silent.
"For me?"
Rosa nodded.
"She said if anything ever happened to her… only you could have it."
Tears filled Izzy's eyes again.
Even now.
Even twenty years later.
Her mother had been trying to protect her.
"What is it?" she whispered.
Rosa squeezed her hand.
"A key."
Silence.
"What key?"
She smiled sadly.
"The key to the truth."
And suddenly…
Everyone in the room understood something.
The ledger wasn't lost.
It was hidden.
And somewhere in Blackridge…
Eleanor Moretti Carter had left behind one final secret.
A secret meant only for her daughter.
- Writer
